Pakistan has initiated talks with central Asian countries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan for electricity export during winter under the (Central Asia-South Asia) (CASA-1000) agreement. As per the agreement, Pakistan will import 1,000MW of electricity per day at 9.50 cents per unit in summer from May to October. A 750 kilometer-long high-voltage direct current (DC) transmission line between Pakistan and Tajikistan via Afghanistan will be built at a cost of $1.7 billion for this purpose.
Pakistan and Germany have signed a financing agreement for Hydro power and Renewable Energy Phase-II worth Rs. 2,145.29 million. Under the agreement, German Development Bank will provide grant assistance worth 12.5 million Euros to the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan and Agha Khan Rural Support programme. The project has two components i.e the hydro power component and, the biodiversity component.
Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabbar Zaidi has warned of strict action against the import of Indian-origin products in the country using regional ports. He said that the tax authority is noticing import circumvention with respect to goods of Indian origin. As per the World Trade Organization (WTO), rules of origin are the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product.
Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated a ‘science and technology park’ in Islamabad as part of his vision to transform the country into a knowledge economy. PM also mentioned that the government will give special emphasis to science and technology education and introduce modern technologies to unleash the potential of the youth. He also appreciated the initiative and assured he would provide every possible support to the university to take it forward.
Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation and Provincial Housing Authority Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a housing society in the province at an estimated cost of Rs. 97 billion. Under the plan, 15,500 grey structure houses of various sizes will be constructed by PHA Foundation over 8,500-kanal in Surizai area on Kohat Road. As per a statement, the land for this project has already been procured for Rs. 1.03 billion.
Pakistan and Russia have agreed to a joint venture to enhance the cooperation for the upgradation and modernisation of Pakistan railways infrastructure. During a plenary session of the 6th Pak-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation here, the two sides resolved to increase volume of bilateral trade through enhanced business activities by their private sectors.
The auto sector continued its downward trajectory in sales in November 2019, with a decline of 44% in the first 5 months of the current financial year compared with last year. Overall, the auto-sector sold 49,110 units as compared to 87,897 units in the same period of last year. In this period, Toyota’s sales went from 24,119 units to 10,090 units and for Honda, they fell from 20,094 units to 5,885 units.
Pakistan, among other countries is already lined up to acquire the $25 million shoulder-winged turboprop-powered airliner known as Modern Ark 700 (MA700) with the ability to operate in complex flight environments. The 86 passenger capacity aircraft can reach up to 640 kilometres per hour having a range of 2700 kilometres making it ideal for PIA’s domestic flights.
Ministry of Commerce has announced that the tariff concessions under Phase-II of the CPFTA will be implemented between the governments of Pakistan and China from 1st January 2020. As per the agreement, the CPFTA-II will immediately eliminate the tariff on 313 tariff lines of Pakistan’s export interest covering $8.7 billion worth of Pakistan’s global export and $64 billion of Chinese global imports.
Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) has approved gas infrastructure development projects worth Rs 4.05 billion for gasification of Karak, Kohat, Hangu, Charsadda and Peshawar. The Board of Directors (BoD) of SNGPL have approved gasification projects worth Rs. 1.94 billion for Karak, Kohat and Hangu districts. Out of the total project cost, major cost will be funded by SNGPL and the remaining by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.